Loved By A Wraith
by Todd's Pet
Summary: I wanted to show Steve in that cell in Atlantis as more than just sexy and vain - this story has been a long time in the making and Steve wouldn't let go of it, so I hope he's happy with the finished result... and he stays alive, so what could be better?


Loved By A Wraith

As the newest medi-tech to arrive on Atlantis she's been assigned to observe what they only ever refer to as "the prisoner". What she's meant to observe was beyond her as she watched him simply pace the small cell they keep him in – they hadn't even given him anywhere to sit.

At first it was like watching a caged animal pacing, just pacing, up and down, back and forward. But the more she watches him the more subtle nuances she notices… how he pinches the bridge of his nose with his long, elegant fingers, the way he holds his posture so correctly, how he goads the guards ever time he passes them, the way he sits so still on the floor, as if he were meditating…

If she didn't know any better she'd say these were all signs of stress. But then, she corrects herself, she doesn't know any better and there's no reason to believe he isn't stressed. He's clearly an intelligent being, after all.

-oOo-

He's different from that other wraith she saw. The first wraith she ever encountered was enormous and brutish with no thought for anything except feeding on every human he could get close enough to, whether he was hungry or not. She thought him the scariest thing she's ever seen in her life. But somehow, after several days of watching him, her fear of this one is overcome by curiosity and intrigue.

The Major has insultingly named him Steve, but ironically the name seems to suit him. Steve… she says the name several times to herself then starts to add other words… sleek, smooth, stylish… sexy…

Good grief where did that come from? She feels her cheeks flush with embarrassment and looks up at the wraith as he paces his cell, hoping that wraith telepathy isn't quite that powerful. But when she sees that he's stopped pacing and is watching her with a grin on his face, she blushes even deeper and turns away.

-oOo-

"You sit there for hours, say nothing and write much. What do you find to write about me, human?"

"Not as much as it looks, actually," she answers him easily. "We know virtually nothing at all about wraith."

"Without these bars between us I could tell you more…"

Without knowing why she orders the guards to open the cell door. She drags her bench into the cell and sits down. Looking up at the wraith, she pats the empty half of the bench beside her.

Steve is watching her from the far side of the cell, a mixture of amazement and admiration on his face. Ignoring the four guards, who now all have their weapons pointed directly at his head, he walks across to her, his expression melting into one of those smiles of his that almost makes her toes curl.

Standing tall in front of her he says in a measured tone, so the guards will know he's questioning rather than threatening, "What makes you think I won't just feed on you now, human?"

She holds his gaze steadily and replies, "Because you know that if you try, those guards will shoot you before you even come close to finishing me off – and you're not that hungry yet."

"You have that much confidence in their shooting skills?"

"No. I have that much confidence in your intelligence."

Steve smiles broadly and swivels his body to sit beside her. He turns his head to look her in the eyes. "And what is your name?" he asks her.

The nearness of him makes her forget her own name and it takes a minute before she replies, "Victoria… Vickie."

"Which?" he asks plainly.

"You can call me Vickie," she answers and this time when he smiles her toes really do curl up.

-oOo-

"What the – ?"

Major John Sheppard makes one of his regular visits to Steve but this time he can't believe what he sees. The junior medi-tech is in the cell with him – the crazy woman is actually sitting in a locked cell with a hungry wraith!

"What on earth were you thinking of?" Sheppard hisses to the guards.

"She gave us an order, Major," one of them says defensively.

"How long has she been in there?"

"At least an hour… but I can't hear what they've been saying… they've been talking real close, you know…"

Sheppard can see that; the woman and the wraith are so close their bowed heads are touching. They haven't even noticed his arrival and are still talking quietly together as if they were exchanging secrets.

Sheppard straightens his back and orders loudly, "Open the cell!"

Immediately the woman jumps up from the bench and turns, standing to face Sheppard. The wraith remains seated and – good grief! – it looks to Sheppard like Steve is admiring her butt!

-oOo-

Talk about blood on the carpet! Major Sheppard is tearing her to pieces and she has no option but to stand there and listen to him ranting. Her mouth has gone dry as dust at the thought that they might send her back to earth, although she's uncertain why the thought distresses her quite so much.

"And just exactly what did you learn that was so important that it was worth taking such a stupid – stupid! – risk with your life for?" he shouts.

Vickie looks pleadingly at Dr Keller, to whom she had given her notes.

"Well, actually… I haven't had the time to read it properly but she's got a remarkable amount of information here…" Dr Keller interjects.

"What kind of information?" Sheppard asks, finally curious.

"Social, cultural, psychological…"

Sheppard's expression changes back to contemptuous as he returns to berating Vickie. "So, nothing of any actual value, then? No tactical info, nothing about weapons systems or hive numbers…"

"No, sir," Vickie replies defiantly "I'm not a military person, sir. I'm a medical psychologist. I got the information I was assigned to get. Sir."

Sheppard doesn't miss the sarcasm and reluctantly admires her courage. He can't fathom how she did it, but if she can get this kind of information out of the wraith, maybe she can also get something useful out of him

-oOo-

Sheppard stands at the far side of the room, arms folded, watching Steve and Vickie through the bars of the cell. The wraith has got to be damned hungry by now, he thinks to himself, so why the hell does he not even attempt to feed on her? It can't just be because he fancies her, surely – does he, can he? She's just food to him, isn't she? Certainly not a potential mate – if wraith even have mates. Sheppard realizes he doesn't know whether they do or not… perhaps he ought to read Vickie's notes. Then again, perhaps not, he shrugs, admitting that he doesn't actually care.

Sheppard is starting to give himself a headache trying to work out what the hell is going on between these two. He needs to keep his head clear so that he can get the best use out of both of them. Deciding to leave her to it – she volunteered after all – he leaves the room.

-oOo-

"You've tried to reach through the bars before, to feed on Major Sheppard…"

"A momentary lapse of self-control, I assure you," Steve replies. "Besides that particular human is intensely irritating."

"Don't tell me you don't try to feed on me because I don't irritate you enough! I don't buy that, Steve."

"Hmm… perhaps there is more to it then…" he says wryly.

"You know you've got them all completely dumb founded…" she tells him.

Steve grins broadly, pleased at the thought that he has them confused. Vickie continues, "You're obviously highly intelligent – you must know what your ultimate fate will be… aren't you even a little afraid?"

"Of course I'm afraid – and if you tell anyone that then I WILL feed on you next time I see you, no matter how many guards have their guns pointed at my head!"

She smiles and lowers her eyes, inwardly pleased that he's taking her so much into his confidence.

Reading her mind like a book, he says softly, "I have no idea why, but I trust you, human."

-oOo-

"You understand what they're planning to do, don't you, Steve?"

"I understand that if they discover you have told me this, you will be severely punished. Why do you warn me?"

"Because it's wrong… it's just so wrong," Vickie has wrestled with her conscience on this issue for hours. "And what's more I believe Major Sheppard and Doctor Weir know it's wrong. But they're doing it anyway."

"That does not surprise me," Steve says cynically. "I appreciate you telling me this, but I do not see that there is anything I can do about it."

"They haven't tested this Hoffan serum thoroughly enough. You mustn't feed on this man, Steve – they've no idea what side effects it might have, what it might do to you!"

"You don't understand, Vickie" Steve says softly but firmly, looking at her sideways through his long hair. He puts his hand on her thigh and a frisson runs down her leg. "I am now very, very hungry and you have no idea how much will power I am having to use to sit here with you now…"

Vickie's heart suddenly leaps into her mouth and she sees his eyes flick down to her chest almost as if he can hear her heart beating too loudly there. "Then why…?"

"I do not know why," Steve says evenly, the effort starting to show in his expression as he continues, "I want you to leave this cell now and do not come back in here with me again."

"But…"

"Do as I say, Vickie."

She sighs heavily as she looks into his amber eyes, now dimmed with fatigue. She suddenly has the most ridiculous compulsion to sacrifice herself to him. But she does his bidding and gets up and leaves the cell.

-oOo-

"If he's warned Vickie not to go back into the cell with him, then it's not safe for anyone." Dr Keller tells the assembled team.

"So how are we going to transport him to Hoff for the experiment?" Weir asks, still uncomfortable with the entire venture.

"We'll just have to stun him," Sheppard states coldly.

"No!" Vickie cries louder than she intended. "In his weakened condition, you don't know what that will do to him!"

Sheppard looks sidelong at Vickie, completely baffled by her concern for this monster. "He's going to die anyway, so we might as well make use of him while he's still alive."

"And what about the Geneva Convention?" Vickie challenges, looking around all the faces at the table. All but Sheppard look guiltily at their hands.

"He's going to die anyway, Vickie," Sheppard states again slowly, as if he were talking to a dim child, "What difference does it make?"

"It makes a difference to me!" Vickie replies defiantly. "He's a sentient being, intelligent, he deserves to be treated with dignity!"

Sheppard makes an exaggerated sigh before saying, "Yeah right, and he'd suck you dry in a heartbeat!"

"No, he didn't! You saw that for yourself! If you're all determined to do this anyway, then I'll go in and sedate him safely." Vickie's eyes flash with anger, her sense of injustice fired up. Sheppard knows she won't back down.

-oOo-

Sheppard comes into the infirmary room just as Vickie is searching for another hypo in the supplies cupboard.

"Dr Keller left the sedative already prepared on that tray, Vickie," he says, pointing to the table.

"I'll just get another hypo, just in case," Vickie says, her heart feels as if it's beating in her throat, "You know how prone they are to breaking. I'll be right with you."

Quickly and with trembling fingers, she grabs a hypo, tears off the packaging and fills it with plain water, then places it on the tray beside the sedative. Taking a mental note of which one is which, she hurries after Major Sheppard.

-oOo-

The look in Steve's eyes is feral as she stands in front of the door to the cell. Her heart is beating wildly and she's praying with all her strength that wraith telepathy is more than just a myth. She's repeating in her mind over and over again as she holds his gaze, "Please be strong just a little longer…"

Suddenly her heart beat steadies and she's overcome with a feeling of calm. She understands she has to grab the moment while she can, while Steve is still able to control himself.

Taking a deep breath she tells the guards, "Open the door."

Swiftly she moves to Steve's side, knowing time is of the essence. She picks up the hypodermic with the plain water. "They think this is a sedative. It's not," she whispers as she injects him. "When you get the chance, run. Head for the gate."

Then she picks up the tray and leaves the cell without looking back. She doesn't need to look to know that Steve is smiling at her.

-oOo-

With all the security concentrated in the puddle jumper bays and cells for Steve's transfer, it was relatively easy for Vickie to get to the star gate. The self-defense classes her older brother insisted she go to had come in handy for incapacitating the few guards she did run into. She hadn't planned any of this and now she wonders why on earth she even considered it.

She has no idea what might be happening to Steve right now; she simply has to trust that he'll find a way to escape and get to the gate by himself. Will he even believe that she'll be waiting for him here? She watches the surrounding area nervously and hopes he doesn't take much longer.

She has a sudden, stomach lurching thought… what if it all goes wrong and they get caught? Would they take her back to earth and execute her? They'll probably throw her in a cell with Steve and wait until he can't control himself any longer and feeds on her.

She can think of worse ways to die.

-oOo-

Steve has no idea where Vickie is or what she might be doing. At first he thought it might be a trap. But what purpose would it serve? And it was obvious when she came into his cell that she was terrified – and not just of him. It's also now obvious that she did not give him a sedative.

Feigning a drugged stupor, he allows the guards to enter his cell, waiting, waiting for just the right moment…

He slams his feeding hand into one of the guards and drains him in seconds. Before the others even have a chance to react he grabs a second using him as a shield while he feeds on the third.

Holding the second guard in front of him he bears down fast on the others. Steve uses the noise and confusion to his advantage and manages to feed on three more, building his strength in case he needs to fight his way out.

Time to run now, he thinks, and hopes his trust in Vickie is not in vain. He takes flight through the corridors of Atlantis, glad that he took careful mental note of the route from the star gate to the cell.

He has a sudden alarming thought… what if they get caught? It's obvious that she aided him – what would they do to her? More confusingly for Steve, why does he even care?

Would they leave her in his cell until he has no choice but to feed on her? Probably not – these humans have a confused sense of morality and would consider that wrong, although he has no doubt they would shoot them both on the spot without compunction.

He can think of worse ways to die.

-oOo-

Vickie can feel him in her mind. If he hadn't already told her about it, the sensation would have seriously spooked her. At first she can't work out what he's trying to tell her, it's just a jumble of weird symbols. But then her attention is drawn to the gate control and she suddenly realizes that he's giving her a gate address. She stands in front of the dome and, taking a deep calming breath, she dials the code and prays that she's got it right.

She hears him before she sees him – the commotion of the chase echoes down the corridor several minutes before she sees Steve's slender figure speeding around the corner, his hair flying behind him.

He sees her as soon as he rounds the corner with half of the Lantean security force on his heels. She's there, waiting for him and with the star gate already open! His instinct is simply to run as fast as he can through the open star gate but he finds himself involuntarily slowing as he reaches her.

"Come with me!" he says before he even knows he was thinking it. "What do you think they'll do to you now? Come with me!"

He holds his hand out to her, his body still moving towards the gate.

She looks back at the guards just emerging from the corridor behind them and knows he's right; there's nothing left for her here anymore.

She turns to Steve and the hand he's holding out to her – the palm smeared with blood from his feeding slit. Impulsively she reaches out and the instant she takes his hand he pulls her through the star gate with him.

Her last thought before she leaves everything she's ever known behind her forever is, "Well at least he isn't starving any more!"

-oOo-

Even with everything Steve told her about daily life on a wraith hive, it still comes as a culture shock to Vickie. She's one of a mere handful of humans on the hive and none of them are all that friendly; it seems that hive culture makes human and wraith alike constantly watch their own backs.

Her sense that she is only ever really safe when she's with Steve must be responsible for her emotional response to him, she tells herself rationally.

She ignores the small voice that keeps telling her she's wrong and there's nothing rational about it.

Steve knows she's finding it hard to adjust and that she's afraid of the other wraith on the hive, so he tolerates her tendency to cling to him. He senses she has accepted that this is her life now and he knows she appreciates that, at least by wraith standards, he's doing his best to be kind to her, although he also knows she believes this is only because she helped him to escape Atlantis.

He's aware that he has deeper reasons than that, but he hasn't worked them out for himself yet, and he certainly doesn't know why it should be so important to him that she knows this too.

-oOo-

She's trying so hard to be brave but still she looks so lost… she evokes feelings in him he's never felt before and doesn't understand. This morning he even almost got into a fight with another wraith. She may be "his" human, but why did he feel such a need to protect her?

She's sitting in his room in a pool of red light that makes her hair look like it's on fire, and he suddenly realizes that he finds her beautiful.

He reaches out to her and strokes his hand down the length of her long smooth hair, pushing it back over her shoulder and then touching the soft skin of her cheek with his fingertips. He's surprised when she leans her face into his touch, pressing her cheek against the palm of his hand then softly placing her own hand over his.

Vickie stands and turns to face him, looking into his eyes and finally admitting to herself that she is falling in love with this wraith. Reaching up to him she runs her fingers through his long hair and then kisses him.

His lips are soft and warm and gentle, uncertain at first, but as his kisses become more and more urgent she puts her arms around him and wraps her fingers in his hair hanging long and smooth down his back. She holds him close and gives herself to him with the same strength of feeling she felt that day in the cell when she knew she was willing to die for him.

-oOo-

"He took her as a hostage? Crap! A hostage to what? She went with him willingly – she probably even helped him to escape!" Sheppard is not feeling charitable and wishes they'd all just chalk it up as a mistake and move on.

"The information she got out of Steve for us clearly shows that wraith can convert humans to worshippers against their will…" Dr Keller says.

"Oh, come on!" Sheppard retorts impatiently, "You saw them together yourself – she didn't get all cozy with him like that against her will!"

"She was doing her job, getting information from him."

"Yeah right, and she couldn't have done that from the other side of the bars? There was something going on between those two right from the word go. No matter what you say, I know she helped him escape!" Sheppard's already short fuse is getting shorter by the minute.

"Nevertheless, Major," Dr Weir interjects, "She is one of our crew and until we can prove otherwise we have to assume he coerced her."

Sheppard says nothing but the muscle tic in his jaw is plain for all to see.

"If we find she was complicit in the wraith's escape we will deal with her," Dr Weir continues, "But we mount a rescue as soon as we can locate her. We don't leave our own behind, John, and she is still one of us, a human."

-oOo-

Lying in Steve's arms is the only place she feels truly safe, even after all these weeks, and she knows he feels protective of her – she can sense it.

"You're doing it again," Steve says softly.

"What?"

"Thinking in MY head."

"Sorry," she says smiling. This telepathy is about the only wraith thing she seems to be able to get right.

"Don't worry, I like it," he says, and she can hear the smile in his voice even though she can't see it as he turns to her in the dark. Propping himself up on one elbow he leans over her, strokes her shoulder and lets his hand trail between her breasts and down her stomach as he dips his head down and kisses her deeply.

As he shifts his position above her his soft hair brushes across her breasts, sending a delicious shiver down her whole body. She reaches up to him, his weight on her somehow reassuring, and wraps her limbs around his warm, slender body as his hair wraps itself around their faces, enclosing them both in a world of their own.

"I like this, too," he says, gently sliding into her as he kisses her over and over again, "I like this a lot."

-oOo-

An eerie keening scream echoes throughout the hive and Vickie jumps back from the console she was working at. "What's that?"

She's alarmed to see an expression of concern flit briefly across Steve's face before returning to his usual calm demeanor.

"It's the ship's intruder alarm," he tells her, taking her by the arm and guiding her out of the lab. "The drones will deal with it, but I need to get you to somewhere safe."

Hurrying through the ship with Steve, Vickie is impressed with how organized the whole hive is, with drones heading off to deal with the intruders while officer wraith move to various areas of the ship to protect or move to safety anything of value… including herself, it seems. She smiles at the thought that Steve considers her valuable enough to see her safety as a priority at a time like this.

She follows Steve through the endlessly alike corridors, confident in his ability to protect her, and never thinking for one single moment that she might be in any real danger.

-oOo-

Steve hears the sound of gunfire before he sees them round the far corridor and career into the open hall that he and Vickie are passing through.

Lanteans! Steve growls aggressively at them, both in memory of what they attempted to do to him and in possessiveness of Vickie. He pushes Vickie behind him when he sees their weapons and moves to draw his own gun.

In that split second that Steve's attention is occupied, Vickie sees Ronon heft his weapon up to shoulder height, his finger twitching on the trigger as he takes aim at Steve.

"No!" she screams diving out in front of Steve and putting her own body between him and Ronon's weapon fire. She sees the blue flash leave the gun and barrel towards her in slow motion before it blasts into her face and everything around her goes black.

-oOo-

Vickie claws her way back to consciousness. It takes an interminably long time for her to finally be able to open her eyes, and when she does she can't work out where she is. She hadn't realized how used she'd become to living on a wraith hive and the bright lights and straight lines of the Atlantis infirmary dazzle and confuse her.

Her first thought is for Steve, his name the first word she tries to utter.

The resultant strangled moan brings both Dr Keller and Major Sheppard to her bedside. They don't speak directly to her, but to each other.

"How is she?" Sheppard asks Dr Keller.

"Not good," she replies, checking the readouts on the machinery Vickie is attached to.

"Steve…?" Vickie finally manages to get the word out.

Sheppard looks down at her with an odd mixture of concern and disgust. "He was hit with the same blast you were. He went down hard."

Vickie turns her head away and a single tear runs down her cheek and soaks into the pillow beneath her head.

"Did you have to be quite so callous?" Dr Keller hisses at Sheppard, then turns to Vickie and adds, "We didn't see what happened to him, Vickie – he might still be alive."

"Steve…" Vickie says again.

Dr Keller fusses over a drip snaking into Vickie's arm and says, "He's still on his hive and my only concern is you – you've been very seriously injured."

"I want him here…"

Dr Keller looks up at Sheppard who merely shrugs. Dr Keller sighs in exasperation at him and draws him away from Vickie's earshot. "There is a very high probability that she won't make it, Major, " she tells him bluntly. "If it's at all possible I think we should get him here… it may be her last chance to see him…"

-oOo-

"I don't give a damn what your protocols are! If you know the wraith I'm talking about and he's still alive, tell him to get his ass here now!" Sheppard can't believe he's even contemplating this, but Dr Keller can be very insistent when she feels like it.

The skinny wraith with tangled hair on the screen in front of Sheppard makes a show of obstructing him just for the sake of being awkward but is swiftly brushed aside and the wraith Sheppard recognizes as Steve stands in his place.

"As you can see, Major Sheppard, you have not succeeded in killing me yet," he says smoothly. "What have you done with Vickie?"

"Is that concern for a human, there, Steve?" Sheppard goads. An expression of frustrated annoyance flits across Steve's face before Sheppard goes on, "She's being taken care of in our infirmary; she's been seriously injured–"

"Injured by YOUR people!" Steve interrupts. "How badly? Are your people even capable of healing her?"

"She's dying," Sheppard says bluntly, almost enjoying the way the wraith's face crumples into a snarl.

"Very well!" Steve growls, "I will come to Atlantis through the star gate."

"Give me some time to arrange security and we'll let you in," Sheppard replies reluctantly.

-oOo-

Steve brushes the guards aside and strides into the infirmary. "What is this?" he says when he sees Vickie on the gantry.

"I'm so sorry…" Dr Keller says. "She died almost twenty minutes ago… I did everything I could…"

"No! How could you let this happen?" Steve growls angrily and flies across the infirmary room to Vickie's side. She looks peaceful, as though she were merely sleeping.

Without any preamble Steve slams his feeding hand onto her chest.

Dr Keller puts her hand on the wraith's free arm and tries to pull him away. "It's too late, Steve, she's gone," she says.

Steve snarls impatiently, shrugs her hand off his arm, and continues to pour his life force into Vickie.

After several minutes he staggers back and his connection with Vickie is broken. He falls forward and tries again, but is visibly weakening until he eventually reels away from her.

"I'm too late," he growls angrily to himself, "I cannot bring her back."

The despair on his normally serene face almost breaks Dr Keller's heart and she doesn't know what to say to the wraith.

-oOo-

"Incompetent humans! How could you let this happen? Why could you not keep her alive longer? Just a little longer!"

Dr Keller has seen Steve like this before, when he threw a strop in the cell. The wraith is pacing angrily back and forth in front of her, his hair and coat flying out around him every time he turns. But this time his pacing is not a tantrum; this time she realises he is genuinely distressed.

Dr Keller's compassion makes her stretch her hand out to the wraith, but she snatches her hand away when he turns and hisses at her. "I have no time for this!" he growls sharply.

"I'm sorry," Dr Keller says anyway, not knowing what else to say to this creature who obviously cares for the dead woman but won't admit it, even to himself.

"How long?" Steve suddenly demands.

"What?"

"How long has she been dead? How long?" he demands again impatiently.

"No more than half an hour…" Dr Keller replies, not knowing where he's going with this.

"Then it can still be done," he says softly, almost to himself. He lifts her up and starts to carry her away. "I need to find a wraith more powerful than myself… Out of my way! I must hurry!"

He pushes past the astounded medical staff, carrying Vickie closely in his arms then, as soon as he gets clear into the corridor, he breaks into a run.

-oOo-

Already weakened by his attempts to revive her, he doesn't run as easily as he expects and stumbles twice along the way, though he far outruns the Lantean security team who are now following him. Steve's third stumble takes him almost headlong into John Sheppard. The security team radioed ahead and Sheppard is now standing in front of the star gate with a P90, blocking Steve's way through it.

In spite of Sheppard's proximity to the gate, Steve hefts Vickie's weight onto his shoulder and dials one-handed without any hesitation. Rebalancing her weight back into both arms, Steve watches Sheppard as he has to lunge forward to avoid being vaporised by the surge of the event horizon.

The second it settles, Steve leaps toward it, but Sheppard anticipates the wraith's move and quickly twists back to block his path again. Steve snarls in his face, "Out of my way, human, or I will kill you where you stand!"

Sheppard raises his gun level with the wraith's eyes and glares at him. Realising he is running out of time, Steve looks down into Vickie's lifeless face and his eyes well up. He looks back at Sheppard and says quietly, "There is still time – let me take her – or if I cannot have her back, then kill me here and now."

The gun in Sheppard's hand wavers as he sees the strength of Steve's emotions for the woman he holds in his arms so protectively.

The wraith's voice finally breaks, making his next word inaudible to everyone except Sheppard: "Please."

John Sheppard looks deep into the wraith's eyes – liquid gold shimmering with a film of unshed tears – then he lowers his weapon and stands aside.

The End


End file.
